Scent in Context

Peter de Cupere's work is currently on exhibit in the exhibition, Ether: Aromatic Mythologies
, which runs from May 31, 2025, to September 7, 2025, on the 3rd floor at Craft Contemporary.

Scent in Context is a unique document that witnesses the olfactory artist Peter de Cupere’s research, the origins and context of his work and practice, and that offers a view and presentation of more than 500 artworks.

7 authors, 472 pages, more than 1500 illustrations and images, 22 images with 11 different scratch and sniff hidden smells, all make this very heavy book a complete guide to discover the world of olfactory art. The book will surprise and interact with you by enticing soft and beautiful smells, and in contrast, it may also shock while presenting intense or mind-teasing smells. Refine your nostrils when reading this book!

By exploiting the subjective, associative impact of smells, in combination with visual images, Peter De Cupere generates a kind of meta-sensory experience that goes beyond purely seeing or smelling. Plastic artist De Cupere paints with scents, produces olfactory objects, soap paintings, and sculptures, creates video and live performances, makes three-dimensional drawings, and builds poetic smell installations.

Peter de Cupere (1970) is an olfactory artist who lives and works in Antwerp. De Cupere creates work intended to explore experiences of smelling. As part of his olfactory art practice, de Cupere explores technology. He invented the "Olfactio" in collaboration with Cartamundi. In collaboration with Gluon, Callebaut, and chocolatier Patrick Mertens, he invented "Cocoa 5 Senses". From 1997-2004, he invented the first working scent piano, called Olfactiano, The Aesthetics of Smelly Art. In 2012, he invented The Blind Smell Stick and The Blind Smell Touch. These smell devices let the spectators find their way or experience objects and food simply by smelling. Exhibited for the first time in the World Creativity Biennale in Rio de Janeiro in 2012.

The work of Peter de Cupere makes a statement about our experience of smell. He starts from the suppressed history of smells, which, in our culture, still lead an almost ‘underground’ existence in comparison with the official, culturally celebrated sensual experiences. By exploiting the subjective, associative impact of smells, in combination with visual images, Peter de Cupere generates a kind of meta-sensory experience that goes beyond purely seeing or smelling. He paints with scents, produces olfactory objects and sculptures, creates video and live perfumances, makes scent drawings, and builds poetic smell installations. He experiments with every possible use of smells like a contemporary alchemist. Though the whole of his work is about the perception of smells and how smell can be a context and/or concept of the work.